2 ways that grains actually can be "good for you"

I hesitate to use the phrase "good for you" about foods because usually foods have both good, bad, and neutral aspects to them nutritionally that depend on *you* specifically, your body, you metabolism, your allergies, your digestion, etc. So you have to weigh all of the above.

Grains are being knocked these days for having "no nutritional value" and even for having "anti-nutrients." But actually this is not true. Grains are often compared to vegetable sources of carbs and found to lack the same variety of vitamins and phytonutrients, but they have advantages of their own. I'm certainly not advocating chowing down on grains and bread all day as the SAD diet suggests (Standard American Diet). But here are two ways that whole grains (only whole grains) help reduce heart disease:

-Whole grains (ex. brown rice, whole wheat) have something called DMG which converts to something else called TMG in the body. Straight TMG is highly-valued in nutrition and found in greens like spinach. It is a key to preventing heart disease because it breaks down destructive homocysteine that comes from eating lots of protein. Homocysteine is one of the key markers of heart disease, it literally shreds your arteries in a way analogous to tiny bits of broken glass.

-Further, phytic acid is often called an "anti-nutrient" because it strips away iron from the blood stream by chelating it (binding to it). However, if you are trying to avoid iron overload, this may be just what you need. The "anti-nutrient" label comes mostly from people thinking about iron deficiency, but there are loads of people (more guys than women) with excess iron that they need to reduce. So one man's anti-nutrient is another man's nutrient. In fact, for people with real iron overload problems, rather than giving blood frequently which has been the only solution until recently, you can simply get something called IP6 which contains phytic acid and your iron will come down extremely fast without all the fatigue of having to lose blood. (see previous post)

So whole grains definitely have their good side. Imagine if you eat a side a brown rice with a steak: the phytic acid reduces the iron form the steak, which can be good because it prevents that iron from banging around in your arteries creating nicks, while the DMG reduces the homocysteine from the steak. So it is worth noting these big benefits to grains, while remembering to eat whole grains and to eat them in moderation, according to your own personal nutritional type.